Method of identifying moving bodies

• US 7,515,997 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2004
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Akira Imai
• Original Assignee: Akira Imai
• Inventors: Imai, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US10/563,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155428A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,762 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/2, 701/300, 701/301, 701/205, 701/206, 701/207, 701/213, 455/456.1, 340/435, 340/436, 340/903
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions

Abstract

There is provided a method of identifying a plurality of moving bodies that are present nearby, wherein each moving bodies includes means for transmitting, as advance information, a movement state including an operation instruction received by the moving body, together with identification information of the moving body and means for monitoring the behavior of other moving bodies, the method including: a step of causing at least one of the plurality of moving bodies to carry out, as a target moving body, a reveal operation that enables the behavior of a target moving body to be differentiated from other moving bodies; and a step of detecting the reveal operation by the means for monitoring of the other moving bodies and identifying the plurality of moving bodies by grasping positions relative to the target moving body. By using this method of identifying, it is possible to precisely identify vehicles moving in the periphery and to control vehicles safely while predicting the behavior of other vehicles.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring behavior of a plurality of moving bodies, wherein each of the moving bodies includes:

means for transmitting, as advance information, a movement state including an operation instruction received by the each moving body, together with identification information of the each moving body, and

means for monitoring behavior of the moving bodies,

the method comprising;

designating one of the plurality of moving bodies as a target moving body and causing the target moving body to carry out a reveal operation that enables behavior of the target moving body to be differentiated from behavior of others of the plurality of moving bodies;

each of the plurality of moving bodies generating the operation instruction for controlling an operation of the each moving body;

each of the plurality of moving bodies transmitting the advance information and identification information of the each moving body;

transmitting the reveal operation;

detecting the reveal operation by the means for monitoring the behavior of the moving bodies;

each of the plurality of moving bodies transmitting information concerning a position of the each moving body relative to the target moving body;

receiving the information concerning the positions of each of the moving bodies relative to the target moving body; and

identifying relative positions of the target moving body relative to each of the other moving bodies by monitoring the position information.

2. A movement control system comprising:

means for providing, as advance information, a movement state including an operation instruction received by a present moving body, together with identification information for the present moving body, to other moving bodies or a central control system and for obtaining advance information of the other moving bodies;

means for obtaining periphery information including behavior of the other moving bodies;

control means for generating an operation instruction based on the advance information and the periphery information;

means for designating one of the moving bodies as a target moving body;

means for outputting an instruction for the target moving body to carry out a reveal operation, wherein the reveal operation behavior of the target moving body to be differentiated from behavior of other of the moving bodies;

means for detecting a reveal operation of the target moving body based on the periphery information and determining a position of the present moving body relative to the target moving body; and

means for transmitting the position of the present moving body relative to the target moving body together with the identification information to the other moving bodies or the central control system.

3. The movement control system according to claim 2, further comprising means for obtaining relative positions of other moving bodies and identification information of other moving bodies.

4. A moving body comprising a movement control system according to Claim 2.

5. A central control system comprising:

means for obtaining, from a plurality of moving bodies present nearby, a movement state of each of the moving bodies including an operation instruction received by each of the moving bodies together with identification information of the moving bodies, and providing the obtained information to other of the moving bodies as advance information;

means for designating one of the moving bodies as a target moving body;

means for instructing the target moving body to carry out a reveal operation that enables behavior of the target moving body to be differentiated from the other moving bodies; and

means for obtaining information concerning directional relationships between the target moving body and the other moving bodies around the target moving body, and identifying the plurality of moving bodies by grasping relative arrangement of the plurality of moving bodies around the target moving body using the directional relationships.

6. A method of identifying a plurality of moving bodies that are present nearby, wherein each of the moving bodies includes means for transmitting, as advance information, a movement state including an operation instruction received by the moving body, together with identification information of the moving body, and means for monitoring behavior of others of the moving bodies;

the method comprising;

designating one of the moving bodies as a target moving body and causing the target moving body to carry out a reveal operation that enables behavior of the target moving body to be differentiated from the other moving bodies;

detecting the reveal operation by the means for monitoring of the other moving bodies;

determining directional relationships between the target moving body and the other moving bodies respectively; and

identifying an arrangement of the moving bodies.